‘Something has to be done’: Advocacy group launches AC for All campaign

Many people tried to stay cool amid high temperatures across the Maritimes on Wednesday.

It wasn’t quite as hot in the Greater Moncton area on Wednesday as it was the day before, but the heat did linger.

The temperature hit 33.5 C on Tuesday, but it felt like 43 C with the humidex.

Michelle Arsenault and her family went to the splash pad in Centennial Park a day after the first scorcher of the summer.

“I got off at ten o’clock and it was still super hot. I just went home and put my AC on,” said Arsenault.

ACORN, an advocacy group for low to moderate-income people, held a rally in front of an apartment building on St. George Street during the lunch hour.

The anti-poverty advocacy group launched its new “AC for All” campaign which is calling on all levels of government to create programs that will ensure low-income families can have access to cooling their homes in an affordable manner.

“The world gets hotter every single year and it gets more and more difficult for low- and moderate-income people to just live, to exist in their homes without it being an active health risk,” said ACORN member Sawyer MacNaughton.

The group would like to see barriers that prevent tenants from installing cooling devices in their units removed.

Sera Chase lives in the building – has an AC unit – works just OK.

“Something needs to be done,” said ACORN member Sera Chase. “The landlords, they own the building, they maintain the building, but we live in it, and we shouldn’t be being baked alive.”

Coalition for Seniors and Nursing Home Residents’ Rights Executive Director, Cecile Cassista, said there are a lot of seniors that live without air conditioning.

“We encourage seniors to be mindful in the extreme heat. To drink lots of water, stay away from the sugar products, alcohol, because you dehydrate much quicker because you’re on various levels of medication,” said Cassista.

Cassista doesn’t think seniors should have to pay to keep their homes cool.

It should be provided by landlords or through government funding.

“I really don’t support the concept that you know, ‘You want it, you pay for it,’ many seniors can’t afford that,” said Cassista.

For many young families, the best way to beat the heat on Wednesday was a trip to one of the city’s pools or splash pads.

“You come to the water park, where it’s nice and cool,” said Arsenault.

Her granddaughter Hailey Arsenault had a unique way of beating Tuesday’s extreme heat.

“I was at my boyfriend’s house. His mom got a doggie pool, and we went in the doggie pool because the dog didn’t want to go in it,” said Hailey.

Temperatures in the Greater Moncton area are expected to drop over the coming days.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.